A Spy by Nature - Charles Cumming [89]
‘Come on, Alec. We were first introduced before that.’
‘Yes. And you cultivated the friendship because you knew that this might happen.’
‘Now hold on there,’ says Fortner. ‘We just want a little help, that’s all, and we’d be prepared to pay you handsomely for that.’
This is smart: bring it back to the money. It’s fascinating to see how Fortner operates. He wants to take my mind away from ethical considerations and just let me visualize the cash.
‘How much?’
‘We’ll come to that in good time. There’s a lot we need to discuss first.’
‘I’m not even sure about this. I’ll need time to think it over.’
‘Of course.’
And now it’s my turn to pace. I am up on my feet, walking in random circles around the room, running my hand through my hair, lighting a cigarette.
‘I need some air.’
‘What?’
Katharine looks up at me, a dying fall of panic in her voice.
‘He says he needs some air. Alec, you mustn’t talk to anyone about this. That could get us all in a lot of trouble. Now you understand that, don’t you?’
‘I’m not stupid, Fort. I just need to walk around, clear my head.’
‘So you’ll be back?’ she asks.
‘Maybe,’ I reply, backing away towards the front door. ‘Maybe.’
20
Creating JUSTIFY
An hour later I climb the stairs to their apartment, not two at a time, but singly, contemplatively, slowly making my way to the third-floor landing. Fortner is standing in the half-opened door, his tie gone, a glass of whisky in his hand. Our eyes meet for a good long time as I come towards him, my shoulders hung deliberately heavy, hair dishevelled by the wind.
‘Where d’you get to?’ he says quietly, ushering me back inside.
‘To Portobello Road. Around.’
Katharine is sitting on the sofa, upright and very still. She looks to have been scolded. Her eyes are heavy, perhaps even with tears. It is as if a mask has been wrenched from her face and all that is left is a frightened revelation of self. She looks up at me and gives a weak smile. Everything feels drained now.
‘You wanna drink?’
‘No thanks, Fortner. I want to be very clear.’
He sits down beside his wife and I settle opposite them on the second sofa, our positions exactly reversed from before.
‘We didn’t think you’d come back,’ says Katharine. ‘We’re really very sorry about what happened.’
‘I was walking. Thinking things through.’
‘Of course,’ she says.
‘I…’
Fortner interrupts me as I make to say something.
‘Alec, it was a bad idea asking you. We could get you in a lot of trouble if -‘
‘I’ll do it.’
Katharine’s head jerks up and her bruised eyes flare open.
‘You will?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, that’s good news,’ says Fortner, less enthused than I had expected. He’s known that I would bite all along.
I tell them that we need to clarify a lot of things, and Fortner says, ‘Indeed.’
‘And I’m sorry I got upset with you,’ I say, lighting another cigarette. The packet is getting low. ‘I was just very surprised.’
‘Of course you were.’ Fortner says this with no feeling in his voice. Katharine stirs, looking at me fondly. Relief has energized her.
‘Alec, I really just wanna make one thing absolutely clear, OK?’
‘Sure.’
‘I just wanna say that our friendship wasn’t predicated on this happening. It was interdependent… uh… more of a product of our becoming friends.’
Fortner seconds this, saying, ‘Absolutely, it’s very important to make that clear,’ but it’s a lie because his eyes sink to the floor as he says it. He and Katharine are strangely out of synch, as if every development is new to them, untested.
‘So what is it exactly that you want me to do?’
Katharine suddenly laughs with nerve-relief.
‘Golly,’ she says breathlessly. ‘Where do we start?’
‘Golly’ isn’t a word that I’ve heard her use before. This is all getting to her in a way that Fortner cannot have anticipated.
‘We’re not gonna get anything resolved this evening in any detail,’ he says, with a steadiness which suggests that from now on he will be taking charge. ‘The most important thing to stress to you is that what we’re about to embark on must be undertaken with